Saturday Plans
by HuesoftheMorning
Summary: The first time Nico showed up at her house, Eli was completely unprepared. The second time Nico showed up, Eli was surprised. By the fourth time Eli found herself expecting the doorbell to ring, and by the fifth she realized that she was looking forward to seeing the other girl. But it wasn't until their eighth outing that Eli finally decided to ask why. (full summary inside)
1. Arcade

Full summary:

The first time Nico showed up at her house, Eli was completely unprepared. The second time Nico showed up, Eli was surprised. By the fourth time Eli found herself expecting the doorbell to ring, and by the fifth she realized that she was looking forward to seeing the other girl. But it wasn't until their eighth outing that Eli finally decided to ask why: why Nico had started spending time with her, why she was trying so hard to come up with places to go, and why Eli herself wanted so badly for their meetings to never end.

**1: Arcade**

The first time Nico showed up at her house, Eli was completely unprepared.

"We're going out," the girl stated the second the door opened. "So put your coat on and let's go."

Eli paused, frowning. Had she made plans with Nico? She didn't think so. No, she definitely hadn't. Saturday was her work day, after all. Occasionally she would make plans for Sunday, but never Saturday. And with Nico? Despite them both being third years, Eli wouldn't consider them close. The only time they really talked was during practice, or when Nozomi pulled the two of them together. So why had Nico shown up, by herself, without any warning? Was there something she was missing?

"Why?" Eli finally responded, trying to put her thoughts into words.

Nico just gave her a confused look. "What kind of question is that? It's the middle of January, that's why. I know you're from Russia where it probably snows in the summer or something, but I'm pretty sure you still need a coat. Seriously, what kind of answer are you even looking for?"

"It doesn't snow in the summer. But that's not what I meant. I was asking why we're going out. I don't remember making plans."

"What, you don't remember?" Nico huffed, crossing her arms. "I would have thought that the former _student council president_ would remember something she talked about _one day_ ago."

Eli paled. "Well, I mean—"

"I'm kidding," Nico said flatly, rolling her eyes. "Jeez, you're so gullible. We didn't make any plans. I just felt like stopping by and hanging out. Is that a problem? Besides, I doubt you were busy. Your social life is worse than _mine_, after all. You were probably just sitting in your room, working on next month's homework or something."

"I don't go _that_ far ahead," Eli protested. "I was only working on the assignments for next week."

"Wait, seriously? You were _actually_ getting ahead on work?"

Eli was just self-aware enough to blush. "There's nothing wrong with getting a head start on things," she mumbled.

Nico groaned. "I can't believe you. It's a good thing I came over! You're going to overwork yourself, you know? But don't worry, the ever-thoughtful Nico-Nii is here to the rescue! So come on, let's get going already!"

She turned around and started walking towards the stairs, refusing to listen to any more protests. She had waited long enough. It was cold outside, after all, and the sooner they got moving the sooner she would warm up. Eli sighed, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her coat before hurrying to catch up with the shorter girl. It didn't seem like she any choice but to follow.

"Where are we going, anyways?"

"The arcade."

"The arcade?"

"What, do you have a better idea?"

"I suppose not…"

"That's what I thought."

They walked in silence after at, each occupied with their own thoughts. Eli shivered lightly at a gust of wind, pulling her coat tighter. It was a cold day: snow was piled up on the edges of the streets, and the cloudy sky told of more to come. The sidewalks were empty, everyone choosing to stay inside where it was warm. That had been Eli's plan, too. Spend the day curled up under the blanket with a mug of hot chocolate while doing homework. It would have been a nice, relaxing Saturday.

She sighed silently, glancing over at Nico. It didn't look like she was enjoying the cold any more than Eli was. Her shoulders were hunched up, hands buried deep in her coat pockets. A small frown was on her face, and Eli wondered what she was thinking. She sighed again, looking around at the buildings they passed.

This… wasn't how she had wanted her Saturday to go.

But she might as well get over that and make the most of it. They were already half way to the arcade, so there was no sense in going back home. And besides, Nico must have had a good reason to invite her out, even if she didn't know what it was. Eli didn't want to disappoint her. Despite how troublesome the other girl could be – Eli distinctly remembered the whole 'backup dancer' fiasco – they were still friends, and Eli did care for her. She owed it to Nico to at least try and enjoy the outing.

"How do you think the competition is going to go?" she finally asked.

"Huh?" Nico glanced up, only to find that Eli was looking away from her. "You mean Love Live?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not worried about it," Nico stated confidently. Eli turned to her in surprise.

"Really?"

"Why should I be? I'm Super Idol Nico-Nii, remember? I'm going to be the Number One idol in the world! And I guess the rest of you aren't too bad, either."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence."

"So there's nothing to worry about," Nico continued, ignoring the muttered comment. "We have two and a half months left to practice. And yeah, we'll be going up against some tough groups, but we're a pretty tough group ourselves, you know! We beat A-RISE, after all."

"I'm still not quite sure how we beat them," Eli admitted. "They have so much more experience than us."

"It doesn't matter how we beat them. We did, and that's that. Now we just have to go beat everyone else."

Eli shook her head and gave a small smile. Nico's optimism – or was it stubbornness?- was always strangely comforting. "I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right!"

Eli hummed in assent as they fell back into silence. Nico watched her out of the corner of her eye. She really wasn't very good at this, was she? Here she was, trying to be a good friend and spend time with Eli, and she couldn't even think of something to say. She squeezed her hands into fists, trying to get rid of the frustration growing inside her. Maybe this was a mistake, showing up at Eli's house out of the blue and taking her to the arcade. Did Eli even like arcades? Knowing her, she's probably never even been to one. Nico frowned. Why didn't she think of that beforehand? This was an awful idea. They should probably just stop now and promise never to speak of this awkward attempt at hanging out ever again.

_No. You're seeing this through to the end, Nico,_ she berated herself. _When have you ever given up this easily?_ _Come on, there must be_ something _you can talk about! You're going to an arcade. Talk about that!_

Nico dug her hands deeper into her pockets and took a deep breath.

"So. What kind of arcade games do you like?" She took a quick glance at Eli, trying to judge the girl's reaction. Eli's expression changed from surprised to thoughtful. That was good, right?

"I don't think I've ever been to an arcade before, actually. The idea never interested me very much."

Nico cursed under her breath. This was definitely, definitely a bad idea.

"Ah!" Eli realized her mistake when she saw Nico's frown return, and she scrambled to fix it. "I'm not saying that I don't want to go, though! I'm, uh, I'm looking forward to it, actually! It'll be something new, and it's always good to try new things, right?"

"If you didn't want to go to an arcade, you should have just said so at the beginning."

"That's not—"

"That _is_ what you're saying. It's fine. I don't care. It was a dumb idea to begin with."

Nico glared at the ground. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ _Of course she doesn't like arcades, why would she? They probably seem childish to her. I should have come up with something more sophisticated, like a museum. It would have been boring as hell, but at least Eli wouldn't hate it. I can't believe I messed up this badly, and on the first time, too._

Eli bit her lip, trying to come up with a solution. Nico looked really mad; she was practically stomping as they walked, and she refused to look up. That wasn't what Eli meant to happen. She really _wasn't_ opposed to going to an arcade, after all. It was true that she had never wanted to before, but it wasn't like she hated the place. But how to explain that to Nico? Eli doubted that anything she said would be taken the right way. Nico would just think she was coming up with an excuse. She needed to distract her first.

"What's your favorite game?"

"What?" Nico looked up, startled. She had been expecting a lot of things – an apology, an excuse, a 'good riddance' – but that question was not one of them.

"You've been to the arcade plenty of times before, right? I'm sure there are games you're really good at."

"Of course I'm good at the games! Who do you think you're talking to?" Nico glared at her, and Eli gave herself a mental pat on the back. The best way to distract Nico was to get her to talk about herself, and it seemed to have worked this time.

"Right, right, I'm sorry for forgetting. Which ones are your favorites, then?"

"Hmph." Nico crossed her arms in annoyance, but her shoulders had relaxed slightly. Eli's plan was working, it seemed. She just had to hope that her last step would be enough to fix her earlier mistake.

"If I had to pick," Nico continued. "I'd have to say karaoke and ddr. I'm practically unbeatable at those." She smiled smugly, ignoring the memory of the younger members in Muse scoring better than her all those months ago. It had been an off day, she told herself. There's no chance they'd ever beat her now.

Eli took a deep breath, knowing that she might regret her next words but needing to say them anyways. "I bet I could beat you."

Nico stopped dead, her mouth falling open. "_You?_ You've never even been to an arcade before, and you think you can _beat_ me?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Eli stopped walking and looked behind her, watching as Nico narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Oh, it is _on._"

Nico marched forward, determined now to go to the arcade. _I don't even care if Eli hates the arcade_, she decided, _no one challenges me like that and gets away with it._

Eli smiled as she followed. She was definitely going to regret this, that was sure. But Nico didn't seem upset anymore, so she still considered it a victory. Probably the only victory she was going to get today. _What kind of game is 'ddr' anyways?_

They made it to the arcade a few minutes later. Nico strode straight to the back of the building, heading for the ddr machines. Eli trailed behind slowly, eyes wide as she looked around. There were people everywhere; clustered around the crane games, playing video games, and sitting at the tables eating food from the snack bar. It was incredibly noisy. People were talking and shouting and cheering their friends on. Eli could barely make sense of it all.

She paused for a moment as she passed by an air hockey table. Two girls were battling it out as spectators watched with excitement. The clink of the puck hitting the sides of table was almost mesmerizing, and Eli found herself standing still, following the movement of the disc as it slid back and forth across the table.

"There you are!"

Eli jumped as Nico grabbed her arm. She blinked at her for a moment, still half in a trance, before realizing that she had forgotten to follow the other girl.

Nico rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I look away for two seconds and you go and disappear on me. It's just air hockey; it's not that exciting, I promise. Come on, ddr is over here."

Eli just nodded as Nico dragged her through the crowd. "I didn't realize there would be so many people here," she finally managed to say when they came to a stop.

"It's a bit more crowded than usual, but it _is_ a Saturday. There's always a bunch of people here on the weekend."

"Don't they have work to do?"

"What's with you and work? They probably do it all Sunday night, like normal high school students. But let's stop talking about work; that's boring stuff. Have you ever played this before?"

Eli shook her head slowly, looking warily at the machine in front of her. It was a lot quieter in this part of the building, so they had the entire game to themselves. That was probably a good thing, Eli figured, since they wouldn't have to wait for their turn. But it also meant that there wasn't anyone that she could watch in order to get a grasp on how to play. It looked like some sort of dancing game? The screen showed a pattern of arrows rising to the top before disappearing. Did they correspond to the arrows on the ground? That would make sense, but Eli didn't know what to do with them.

"Well, that's about what I figured. You're the one who challenged me, so really you don't deserve an explanation. It's your own fault for picking a game you don't know about it. _But_, since I'm feeling generous today, I'll tell you the basics."

Nico quickly went over the idea of the game. Eli listened carefully, trying to picture what it would be like. It didn't seem _too_ complicated, but she was pretty sure that she would change her mind after playing it.

"…and that's all there is too it!" Nico finished. She stepped up onto one of the pads and started touching the screen, scrolling through a list of songs. "Here! We'll start with an easy one. You ready?"

"I think so," Eli said, moving to stand on the center of her pad. She looked over at Nico's screen and read the song title. Well, at least it was one she actually knew. Hopefully that would help her a bit.

"Prepare to be beat!" Nico grinned in excitement as she started the game.

Eli stared hard at the screen, tuning out the music and waiting for the first arrows to appear. She was already resigned to the fact that she was going to lose, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. After being rewarded with a few 'goods' and 'greats' as she timed her steps correctly, Eli began to relax slightly. This wasn't so hard. The next sequence of arrows came slowly, and Eli took the chance to glance over at Nico. She nearly tripped over her own feet at what she saw.

Nico danced easily on her pad, eyes bright and a wide smile on her lips as her screen flashed the word 'perfect' over and over again.

_I didn't realize there was a higher score than 'great'_, Eli thought faintly. She shook herself out of her daze and concentrated on her own screen. The song wasn't even half-over; there was plenty of time for her to catch up. Her pace increased as she started to get the timing down. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Nico, emulating the girl's posture and technique.

Nico was keeping watch on Eli, too. She watched as Eli's score improved and continued to rise steadily. _She's definitely got the right idea,_ Nico decided. _Not that it matters. She's still years behind me. I almost feel bad for beating her so easily._ Nico smirked at the thought. _Like I would ever do that. She's the one who asked for this, after all._

The song ended moments later, both girls coming to a halt. The scores came up a second later with an A for Nico and a B for Eli. Nico fist pumped the air.

"What'd I tell you? No one can beat the great Nico-Nii! I'm best there is!"

"I'm impressed." Eli smiled as Nico's expression froze.

"… are you being sarcastic?" Nico's eyes were narrowed as she tried to figure out Eli's intentions. Eli _lost_. Why wasn't she upset? Was she joking?

"Not at all," Eli said. "You clearly knew what you were doing. The only reason I scored so well was because I copied your method. It's much better than what I tried to do at first."

"Er, well, of course!" Nico tried to cover her stutter by crossing her arms and nodding. "I've been practicing for years! Of course I'd know the best technique! You should consider yourself lucky that you have such a great teacher."

"I do."

Nico froze again at the sincere statement, and Eli decided to give her a break. For all her arrogance, Nico really wasn't very good at accepting compliments, was she? It was sort of endearing, now that Eli thought about it.

"Let's play again."

"Huh? Again?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. That was an easy song, right? Now that I've got the idea down, I want to try a harder one. I may not be able to beat you today, but I'll have a shot if I practice."

"I'd like to see you coming here on your own," Nico said while scrolling through the song choices again. "You'd probably get distracted by the crane machines and spend three hours staring at them. And we can't let you do that, right? You have _work_ to do, after all."

Nico emphasized the word, and Eli rolled her eyes at the mocking tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I work too much. You can stop saying it now."

"Are you kidding me!? The idea of you putting off work to go to an arcade is _hilarious_. No _way _am I going to stop."

"Just pick a song already."

"Wow, someone's impatient to lose again." Nico smirked as Eli narrowed her eyes, stepping back onto the center of her pad and starting the song.

They played until they were both out of breath and exhausted. Panting, they collapsed onto the chairs nearby. Nico fanned herself with her hand, grimacing as she felt sweat drip her neck. Eli gave her a tired smile. In the end, her endurance had won out. Her score had increased with each game until she was almost on par with Nico. All it took was a little extra stamina to put her on top.

"It seems you're not so unbeatable after all," she said.

"Beginner's luck."

Eli gave her an incredulous look. "_Beginner's luck?_ We played for an hour! I don't think you can call me a beginner anymore."

"I'll call you whatever you want. Ugh. Why'd we even play for that long? That was almost as bad as a practice session. I'm wiped out."

"It was a lot of exercise. But it was fun, too. I never thought I'd enjoy something like that." Eli gave a bright smile. "Thank you for taking me here and teaching me."

Nico opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, stunned into silence by Eli's smile. _Why does she have to be so goddamn pretty, it's so not fair._ She turned away, feeling her cheeks heat up. "It- it was nothing. I was just being a good friend! Yeah, that's all it was!"

Nico stood up suddenly, her body tense. Eli stared at her in confusion, eyebrows furrowed. _Did I say something strange? Her entire demeanor seems to have changed…_

"…Nico?"

"Were there any other games you wanted to play? You don't seem like the video game type, and I don't feel like spending a bunch of money to play the ticket games, but we could see if the air hockey table is open. Or we could leave. I'm sure you had other stuff to do today that I interrupted. It's up to you."

Nico said the entire thing in a flat voice, staring straight ahead at the ddr machines. Eli frowned. She stood up and placed a hand on Nico's shoulder, quickly removing it when the girl flinched.

"Are you okay, Nico? You're acting strange. Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, you're fine." Nico shook herself and took a deep breath. "So. What do you want to do?"

Nico offered a small smile. Eli wasn't convinced that everything was okay, but she let it drop. She didn't know what else to say, anyways.

"Let's try the air hockey table. We're here, so we might as well see if we can use it."

Nico nodded and led the way to the other area of the arcade. The noise returned as they entered the busier section, but Eli didn't get distracted this time. Her entire attention was focused on Nico, who was still walking a bit stiffly. _What did I say right before she stood up? Something about practice, right? Is she concerned about something going on in Muse? No… that doesn't seem right. _

"Looks like we're out of luck."

"Hmm?" Eli looked up and saw the crowd hanging around the air hockey table. "Oh. Well, that's okay."

"You sure? I bet a bunch of people here are fans of us, we could probably make them move."

"I think that's an abuse of power, Nico."

"Well, _duh_. What's the point in being famous if you can't push people around every so often?"

Eli just shook her head, smiling. "Still. I think we should pass. It looks like it's snowing outside, so we should probably head home before it gets worse."

Nico turned and looked out the windows. The snow was falling steadily; big white clumps that stuck to the glass panes and coated the street.

"I guess you're right. Let's head out then."

They maneuvered through the clusters of people and stepped outside into the cold. Nico shivered, zipping her coat all the way up to her neck.

"I hate winter," she grumbled.

Eli laughed as they started walking. "It's just a little snow."

" 'Just a little snow'. The problem is that there's snow in the _first_ place! It'd be so much nicer if it could just be summer all year round. You wouldn't have to worry about the cold or the snow or coats or any of that stuff. Just shorts and bathing suits!"

"I've always found the summers to be a little too hot—"

"You would."

"—but I understand where you're coming from," Eli finished, rolling her eyes. "I enjoy winter, but it's nice to not have to worry about all the extra layers."

Nico just grunted in acknowledgement. They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, too tired from their ddr competition to talk and relaxed enough that they didn't feel the need to. The street corner where they went their separate ways came up faster than they expected, and they lingered at the edge of the road for a few minutes.

"Well," Eli finally said. "I suppose we should part ways. Thank you again for taking me out."

"Yeah. No problem. I'll see you on Monday."

"Mmm." Eli nodded and crossed the street, lifting a hand in farewell. Nico waved back, watching her go. She dropped her hand after a moment, standing still in the snow. Another beat passed before she turned away and started to head home, trying to ignore how much colder the air felt without Eli next to her.

"Jeez," she muttered to herself. "Get a hold of yourself, Nico. You only spent a couple hours with her; it's too early to be this sappy."

Still, she couldn't help but smile as she started to think of a place to take Eli to next Saturday.


	2. Amusement Park

**2: Amusement Park**

Eli was in the middle of work when the doorbell rang. She paused, pencil in the air, glancing at the stack of papers she wanted to get through. _Maybe, if I don't answer it…_ She held her breath, hoping that whoever it was would leave. A minute passed, and she began to relax, turning her attention back to the worksheet in front of her. _Alright, so all I need to do is—_

The doorbell rang again, and Eli sighed loudly. Setting the pencil down and stretching, she cast one last longing look at her papers before pushing herself to her feet and heading towards the door.

"Nico?" She was here again?

The girl in question was standing with her arms crossed, an annoyed look on her face. _I can't believe she made me ring the doorbell twice. Keeping a soon-to-be famous idol waiting; how much more disrespectful can you get?_

"What took you so long? Wait, no, don't answer that. It doesn't actually matter, and I have a more important question: do you like rollercoasters?"

"I… suppose? Why? And what are you doing here?"

Nico rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me we're doing this _again_. Since you _suppose –_ what kind of answer is that? – that you like rollercoasters, we're going to the amusement park. Are you ready?"

Eli just sighed. "Give me a moment." There wasn't any point in arguing, was there? Once Nico had decided something, very little could change her mind. Eli headed back to her room to grab her phone and wallet, stopping for a moment at her desk. _I guess I'll just have to finish it up later_, she thought as she quickly straightened up the papers.

Nico was waiting for her outside, tapping her foot impatiently. Why couldn't Eli just be ready when she came over? In a few months when it wasn't freezing out it would be fine, but standing outside in the cold wasn't as much fun as it looked. Nico rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm up. At least the park wouldn't be crowded. She was sure there were plenty of people dumb enough to want to go on rollercoasters in the middle of January that it wouldn't be completely empty, but there would be nowhere near the amount of people there were in the summer. Lines in the summer were awful. Nico refused to go near any sort of amusement park when it was warm out. She hated standing around doing nothing. _Like I'm doing right now_, she thought, glaring at the closed door. Eli choose that exact moment to walk out, hesitating in the doorway when she saw Nico's expression.

"You're slow," Nico said by way of explaining.

"If you called ahead to let me know you were coming I would have been ready faster," Eli pointed out. She closed the door and they started walking towards the stairs. Nico set a fast pace; they didn't want to miss the train.

"You should always be ready."

"That doesn't seem very realistic. It would be easier for you to just call."

"I don't want to. That would ruin the surprise."

"So I'm supposed to be ready for a surprise? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Only if you try to ruin it with your logic."

"That doesn't make any sense." Eli sighed, shaking her head. This was going no where. "Why an amusement park, anyways? Isn't this the wrong season for it?"

"It's never the wrong season for rollercoasters. And I picked it because, while I didn't know if you'd like it or not, I figured you've probably at least _been_ to one before." Nico paused, suddenly looking really worried. "You have been to one, right? I know you hate having fun and all, but please tell you haven't been _that_ deprived."

"I'm just going to ignore that last bit. And yes, I've been to amusement parks before. Arisa and I try to go every year or so; she's really fond of them."

Nico nodded. "Smart kid. Rollercoasters are the best."

"Do you take your siblings to amusement parks?"

"Nope. Maybe in a few years, but they're too short to go on most of the rides. I usually take them to a zoo if we want to go somewhere big. They love petting all the little goats." Nico had a fond smile on her face as she spoke, and her voice turned gentle. Eli watched her as she told a story from their last trip to the zoo. _She really loves her siblings, doesn't she? She's like a completely different person, talking about them. Though I suppose I'm not surprised; I'm sure I'm the same way about Arisa._

The two of them exchanged stories as they boarded the train. Nico told of all the antics her siblings got into, and Eli gave amusing stories from when she and Arisa had first moved to Japan and were still adjusting to the different culture. The train ride was over quickly, and they walked the short distance to the amusement park entrance.

"It looks pretty empty," Eli said as they passed through the gates.

"Yeah. That's good; no lines for us."

"Mm. It's still pretty early though. I wonder if more people will show up."

"I guess they might. But that means that we should go on the good rides while we can! I'll be generous and let you pick first." Nico pulled out the map and spread it open. She hadn't been here in a while, so she didn't remember where most of the rides were. "Which one do you want to go on?"

Eli peered over her shoulder, looking at all of the different options. "Let's go on the teacups," she decided.

Nico gave her an incredulous look. "The _teacups_? Why the teacups? We came to this big amusement park filled with rollercoasters and you picked the _teacups?_"

Eli crossed her arms defensively. "What's wrong with the teacups?"

"They're lame! The teacups are, like, little kid rides!"

"Fine, then. We don't have to go on them if you don't want to. Let me see the map again."

Eli reached out for the map, but Nico quickly pulled it away.

"What? No! We're going to go on your dumb teacups. I said I was going to be generous, right? I never go back on my word!" She started to head towards the ride, with Eli matching her pace.

"You don't sound very happy about it, though."

"I said you could pick the first ride. I didn't say I wasn't going to make fun of you for it. Because seriously, the teacups?"

Eli rolled her eyes. "They're fun. It's not my problem if you can't enjoy them."

"That depends. How fast do you spin the cup? You better spin them fast; that's the only way it's an acceptable ride. You come to amusement parks for the thrill, not to turn slowly in a circle."

"If you're done complaining, we can get on the ride."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Nico hadn't even noticed that they had arrived, but now that she had looked up she saw that there was barely a line. They were on the ride a moment later, taking a seat in one of the pink cups. Nico stretched, a wide grin growing on her face before she gripped the wheel tightly with both hands. Eli sat back, an amused smile on her lips.

"Alright! Time to start this thing spinning. Let's see just how fast it can go!" Nico turned the wheel as hard as she could, setting the teacup in motion as the entire ride started moving, an upbeat tune playing over the speakers. Eli leaned in after a moment, helping Nico spin the wheel. She kept her eyes fixed on the other girl, paying no attention to the blur of colors in the background. The wind rushed past her, whipping her hair around, and she reveled in the feeling of near dizziness the ride induced.

The ride came to a stop after a few minutes and they let go of the wheel, the teacup slowly spinning to a halt. They sat still for a moment, breathing heavily, their faces flushed from the exertion. Eli was the first stand.

"See? It wasn't that bad."

"I never said it was going to _bad_, only that— woah!" Nico wobbled as she tried to stand up, her face paling as the world spun around her. Her arms flailed about as she attempted to regain her balance. Eli laughed, grabbing Nico before she fell over.

"Dizzy?"

Nico just groaned as she stumbled off the ride, plopping down onto the nearest bench and covering her face with her hands.

"Why did I do that. Why did I have to go on that ride with you. That was an awful idea. Absolutely awful. You're supposed to be the responsible one, why the hell didn't you stop me? Ugh. I'm gonna throw up."

Eli just watched as Nico continued to mutter to herself. It was hard to tell how sick she was, but Eli was fairly certain that most of it was just dramatics. Nico was fond of doing that. All she needed to do was wait it out. A few more minutes passed; Eli occupied herself by watching the people walking by. It was mostly groups of kids, with a couple parents and their younger kids mixed in. Everyone seemed excited, talking rapidly and waving their hands around as they waited on line for rides.

"… I can't believe this. Out of all the rides in the park, it was the worst one that made me feel awful. Why'd I listen to you? And- wait." Nico suddenly looked up and glared at Eli, who looked completely unaffected. "Why are _you_ not dizzy? I'm about to die over here, and you look like you just took a stroll through a park! How is _that_ fair!"

"I'm used to spinning," Eli replied simply.

"_Used_ to spinning? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means," Eli sighed, in both exasperation and amusement, "that I know how to avoid getting dizzy. You were looking all over the place while we were spinning; I focused on one spot and ignored everything moving around us. That's usually enough to prevent you from getting nauseous."

"… and why didn't you tell me about that _before_ we got on the ride?"

"You seemed to be having fun complaining. I didn't want to interrupt you."

Nico narrowed her eyes. "So that's how it is, huh?"

"What?"

"In that case," Nico said, pushing herself to her feet and trying not to fall over, "let's see how you handle this next ride."

Nico scanned the map quickly before nodding to herself. _That's the perfect one. No way will Eli survive it so easily. _She motioned to Eli to stand up, trying to hide her grin as they started walking.

"… should I be worried?"

"Not at all!"

"I don't think I believe you."

Nico's grin grew wider as they got in line for the ride, and wider still when she saw Eli's expression when she looked at the rollercoaster. It was one of the bigger ones, with multiple loops and long portions where the riders were sideways. There was even one section where they went underground. Nico cackled internally. This was going to be great. Definitely worth getting dizzy for.

"I thought most people started with the easier rides first and worked their way up to ones like these," Eli said, staring at the ride. _Why would they make you go underground? How is that supposed to be fun?_

"Oh? Did I finally find something you're scared of? Wait 'till everyone else hears about this. Who would have thought that the 'cute and clever Elichka' would be scared of a little rollercoaster?"

Eli tore her eyes away from the ride and glared at Nico. "I never said I was scared. I've been on plenty of roller coasters before and survived them just fine. This one's just… a little more extreme than the ones I usually pick, that's all."

"Good. You need some more excitement in your life."

They reached the front of the line and boarded the ride. Nico picked the back row of seats, Eli sitting down next to her. They both held onto the metal bar in front of them: Nico's grip was light as she waited impatiently for the ride to start, while Eli's was much tighter.

"Don't worry," Nico said as they started moving, "if you get scared, just hold on to me. The amazing Nico-Nii will protect you!"

"I think I'll be fine."

Nico faked a pout at Eli's unamused response, but quickly forgot to keep it up as they headed towards the first drop of the ride. She would never admit it, but this rollercoaster was a bit more intense than what she usually went on, too. The loops and turns were fine, but she hated being so high up in the air. The park seemed tiny below her. People were just small dots scurrying about. Nico gulped, tightening her hold on the bar. _Keep calm, Nico. It's just a ride. It'll be fun! You love rollercoasters, remember? Just… smaller ones. No! Stay focused. You just have to fare better than Eli. That won't be too hard, right? _Nico glanced over at the girl in question.

"You ready?" Nico prided herself over the fact that her voice didn't shake.

Eli gave her a nervous smile as the ride paused at the top of the arc. "Let's hope so."

They tipped over the edge, and any words Nico might have responded with were ripped out of her mouth as she screamed. Adrenaline rushed through her body as the ride twisted and turned. The wind pushed her hair back, her eyes tearing up at the rush of air. There was a split second of stillness at the top of the first loop, and Nico could hear her heart beat loudly before they went down the other side and were whipped around to the next one. After the initial drop, Nico found herself enjoying the ride, leaning into the turns and yelling in excitement. _This_ was the kind of thrill she loved. This heart-stopping, near-terrifying thrill.

They completed the last loop and dove underground. In those few seconds of pitch blackness, Nico felt Eli's hand suddenly grip hers with a painful force. Then they were out, leaving Nico to blink rapidly at the return of the bright sky. The ride came to a stop a moment later, and Nico sat still in the cart for a moment, her heart pounding. She gave Eli a big grin.

"That was _amazing._"

"If… you say so."

Eli looked a little pale as they stepped off the ride. She didn't seem to realize that she was still holding on to Nico's wrist, but Nico decided not to mention it. She led Eli to a nearby bench and collapsed onto it, laughing breathlessly as her body began to calm down. Eli leaned back, finally letting go of Nico as she tried to slow her breathing.

"I think… I'm going to stick with the smaller rides."

"What? Too intense for you? I can't believe you actually grabbed on to me; I didn't think you'd be _that_ scared."

"It was just the underground part," Eli muttered. "The loops were fine."

"What's so scary about going underground? It gets dark for a few seconds, and that's all. But if that's case, the other rollercoasters should be no problem. That's the only one that goes underground, as far as I know. _Or_ we could go on that one again. Gotta conquer your fears and all, right?"

"Let's not. Besides, isn't it my turn to choose? We passed an interesting looking one earlier."

"Lead the way, then."

Eli paused. "… can we wait another moment? My heart's still pounding."

Nico nodded, also grateful for the rest. The rollercoaster had taken more out of her than she had expected. They sat on the bench for a few more minutes before heading to the ride. The next few hours passed in a blur of heart-wrenching turns and dizzying loops. They stopped picking specific rides after a while, instead just aiming to go on as many as they could. The lines grew longer as the day went on, but the park stayed fairly empty over all.

"Okay, I think that might be my favorite one," Nico said as they stumbled off another ride.

Eli laughed. "That's the third time you've said that."

"I can't help that! They're all my favorite until we find a better one. But that one was so great! We were upside down almost all the time, and there were tons of loops and twists! It was exciting! Why, is your favorite still the teacups?"

Eli nodded as they went to stand in line for the nearest ride. "Of course."

" 'Of course'," Nico mocked. "You're just saying that because you're too stubborn to admit that you're wrong."

"Maybe _you're_ the one that's too stubborn."

"What? How am _I_ being stubborn?"

"You just don't want to admit that the teacups aren't as lame as you thought you were."

"Yeah, like _that's_ it. The teacups are lame as hell, and you'll never hear me say otherwise."

"I still think—wait."

"Huh?"

Eli looked up at the ride in front of them, her eyes growing wide. Nico followed her gaze, paling when she realized what line they had gotten on. Neither of them had paid attention to what ride they were waiting for; it was already starting to get dark and the park would be closing soon, so they just picked the shortest line they saw. They were already near the front, and would probably be on the next batch of riders.

"… did you pick this ride?"

Nico shook her head slowly. Her voice shook when she spoke. "No. I was just following you."

The gates opened and they walked forward automatically with the rest of the people in line, taking their seats and staring above them at the ride.

"I think we've made a mistake," Eli whispered, horrified, as they were strapped in. They had talked about it earlier: they'd try any ride in the park except for this one. Even Nico was too nervous to go on it, despite how she tried to hide it.

"You _think_? Ugh, why did I follow you! I can't do this. I'm too young and way too pretty to die."

They felt a vibration at their backs as the ride turned on. It pulled them upwards, their feet dangling uselessly in the air. They rose slowly, their hearts beating faster and faster as the park shrank below them. The ride stopped at over 100 feet in the air and hung there for what felt like hours. There was nothing around them but empty air.

"I'm going to throw up," Nico muttered. "I'm _definitely_ going to throw up. Oh god, why did we do this."

Eli could barely hear her over the pounding in her ears. Her arms were shaking as she held on to the harness as tightly as she could. _Just don't look down. Everything will be fine if I don't look down. Everything will be—_

The ride dropped.

Nico and Eli instinctively grabbed each other's hands as their screams joined with the rest of those on ride. Neither of them could think straight; everything was a blur of fear and wind. Their hearts beat wildly in their chests.

The ride jolted as it pulled them upwards again before falling back towards the ground. They bounced a few more times before being gently lowered to a stop. They stumbled off the ride in a daze, holding on to each other in an attempt to stay upright. Both of them were pale-faced and shaking; they didn't even make it to a bench before collapsing. They slumped against a nearby fence and sat in silence as they tried to regain their senses.

"I take it back," Nico finally said, her eyes still unfocused. "I love the teacups. They're my absolute favorite ride. I will stay on them forever if it means I never have to go on that monster again."

"I'm… glad you realized that." Eli didn't have the energy to feel any sort of victory; she was barely able to make coherent sentences.

They sat in a haze for a while longer, only moving when the bell rang to signal the closing of the park. They walked back to the train station on shaky legs. It was only once the train started moving that Eli realized she was still holding Nico's hand. She let go of it and looked out the window, trying to hide her faint blush.

"…. sorry," she murmured.

"… it's okay."

They avoided looking at each other for the rest of ride, walking in silence to the street corner where they parted ways.

"So," Nico said, deciding to break the awkward atmosphere, "arcade or amusement park? Which was better?"

Eli tilted her head in thought. "Well, they were both fun, but if I had to pick… probably the arcade."

"Yeah, I think I'd go with that too. At least the arcade didn't try to kill us."

Eli nodded in agreement, still feeling a little queasy at the memory of the last ride. "We survived though. And the other rides were fun."

"Most of them."

"Only most?"

"Alright, fine. I guess the teacups were _okay_."

"You're just not going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope." Nico grinned at Eli's sigh. "Anyways, I should get going. See you at school."

"Mm. See you."

They parted ways, and Eli walked quickly back to her house. The sun had set a while ago, and it was starting to get really dark. The clouds that had gathered during the day didn't help. She reached her apartment soon enough, stepping inside and calling to Arisa to let her know she was back. Eli paused the moment she entered her room. The pile of papers was still sitting on her desk, waiting to be worked on. She groaned, flopping down on her bed instead.

_I'll just… finish them tomorrow. That will be fine, won't it?_


	3. Bowling

Thank you for all of your reviews! I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far. And yes: this story will have a total of eight chapters. My goal is to write one chapter a week.

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><p><strong>3: Bowling<strong>

When the doorbell rang early in the afternoon, Eli was ready. She was already shrugging on her coat when she opened the door, greeting Nico with a smile and a nod. The other girl looked surprised for a moment, but she quickly adjusted and they started walking.

_Looks like she's learning. _"You all set?"

"Yep. What's the plan for today?"

"I thought we'd go to a bowling alley. Does that work for you?"

"Bowling sounds fun. I didn't know there was a bowling alley in the area, though."

"It's kinda near that idol shop we went to once."

"Oh, really? I must have missed it."

"I'm not surprised. We got distracted chasing Kotori, after all. There wasn't much time to look around."

"That's true…" That had certainly been an interesting day. Eli had never thought that Kotori would be hiding something like that, but she also hadn't known the younger girl very well at that point. She still didn't, really. _I wonder if I should talk to her more? Although I don't know when I would have the chance, since she has to spend a lot of time sewing the outfits for our live performances. "_Speaking of Kotori, weren't you supposed to help her with the costumes this weekend?"

"Yeah. I'm meeting up with her tomorrow, actually. She said they're almost done, so it shouldn't take too long."

"That's good to hear. What do they look like? I don't think I ever saw the designs."

"Well…" Nico described the outfits, interspersing the details with her own opinions. She had a lot of commentary on them, though Eli wasn't surprised. Nico had a lot of commentary about everything. She seemed to like the designs, for the most part. She had a few small issues with the placement of bows and the shape of the dresses, but it mostly boiled down to her outfit not making her look cute enough.

"Seriously! No matter how many times I tell this girl, she just doesn't get it. The main part of Super Idol Nico-Nii's charm is her cuteness! How am I supposed to keep all of my fans if Kotori refuses to make my outfits cute enough?"

"Maybe she thinks you're cute enough already," Eli said absentmindedly. A moment passed before she froze in horror, her face turning red as she realized what she had just said. "I- I mean-"

"Yeah? You mean that that's what _you_ think?"

The tips of Eli's ears turned pink, and Nico would have laughed if she wasn't fighting off her own blush.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry," Nico continued when it looked like Eli wasn't going to respond, careful to keep her voice steady and flat. "You look great in everything. I finished your outfit a couple days ago; you'll have a million more admirers to add to your collection by the end of the show, for sure."

"Tha- that's not true."

"What's not true about it? No matter what you say, you'll always be ridiculously hot. Might as well admit it already."

Eli just made an unintelligible noise as she started walking again, her head down as she tried to overcome her embarrassment. They reached Akihabara soon after, and Nico led the way to the idol shop.

"I want to stop in here for a moment and check something. Do you mind?"

"Not really. What did you want to see?"

"What merch they have of me, of course! I haven't stopped by in nearly a month, so I bet they have a lot of new stuff by now."

Nico headed straight towards the Muse section of the store, clearly knowing her way around. Eli trailed after her, looking at the photos lining the walls. She knew about A-RISE, of course, and she recognized a few people from the posters in the club room, but for the most part she had no clue who any of the idols were. Nico probably knew, she figured, but she wasn't sure she wanted to start that conversation right now.

It was odd seeing herself on the wall, though. And the fact that people bought those things, that people she would never meet had pictures or figures of her? Eli found the whole idea a little strange. But the other girls seemed to enjoy it, so she didn't complain. Nico especially loved everything about it. She turned to Eli with a bright smile on her face, holding something out in her hands.

"I knew it was a good idea to stop here. Look at this!"

It was a keychain: more specifically, a keychain of Nico herself in the panda outfit she had worn for a recent photo shoot.

"I guess it's nice?"

"What, that's it? It's more than nice, it's great! This was one of my cutest outfits! Hold on a moment, I'm going to go pay for it."

"Isn't it weird to buy a keychain of yourself though? The cashier will definitely recognize you."

Nico rolled her eyes. "Duh, of course it's weird. That's why I'll wear a disguise! Good thing I always come prepared for these type of situations." She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of large sunglasses and a surgical mask. After putting them on, she untied her hair and stuffed the ribbons in her pocket.

"All good! No one will recognize me now."

Eli just watched as Nico bounced over to the counter. "I think that might be weirder," she murmured to herself. Nico returned a moment later, removing her disguise and tucking the keychain in her bag so she didn't lose it.

"You going to get anything?"

"I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." Nico shrugged, making her way out of the store. "The bowling alley is just a few blocks away."

_It really is easy to miss_, Eli thought as they entered the building. _I would never have noticed it on my own._ The bowling alley was all underground; the door was part of another building, with stairs leading down to the actual bowling area. The only sign was a small drawing of two pins falling over, painted right above the door.

It was an interesting looking place. The carpet was patterned with random, colorful shapes, and odd, swirling designs covered the walls. Nico and Eli grabbed bowling shoes and headed towards the far lane.

"Alright," Nico said as she finished tying her laces. "You can enter our names into the computer, and I'll go grab us some balls from the rack. Any preference?"

"Any ball will do. It doesn't matter too much, does it?"

"Of course it does! You can be a great bowler, but it won't do you any good if you get the wrong ball. Don't worry, I'll find you a good one."

She came back with a light blue ball for Eli and a pink one for herself.

"You're up first," Eli said as she took the ball, standing up to watch Nico's roll. Nico spun the ball around in her hands as she looked at the pins, trying to decide how to line up her shot. She came to a decision quickly, getting into position and flashing Eli a smile.

"Prepare to be amazed, Eli!"

Nico's first ball went straight into the gutter.

"Th-that was just a warm up shot. Just a fluke! It means nothing!" She kept her head down as she went to retrieve her ball, refusing to look at Eli. _At least she's too nice to laugh._ Eli simply smiled at Nico's actions, giving a nod of encouragement when Nico's second attempt only knocked down five pins.

"There! See, much better! If that had been the first shot, I'd be looking at a spare right now. Nothing to worry about. In fact, I'll let you in on a secret! That first roll? It was all on purpose! I don't want to start off too strong and make you nervous, after all." Even Nico could tell how awful of a lie that was. She quickly changed the subject: "So! Let's see how well you can do."

Eli's first ball was a strike. Nico stared at the fallen pins, her mouth hanging open.

"How—how did you—"

She didn't get a response: Eli was just as surprised as she was, blinking in shock as she tried to figure out what just happened.

"I guess... it's your turn now?" she finally said when the pins were reset.

Nico shook herself out of her daze and took her position at the end of the lane. "Okay, I'll admit that was impressive. But don't expect to get so lucky next time! I'm not going to let you win so easily."

_Time to step up my game. So what if she got a strike on the first round? Nothing I can't beat!_ Nico grinned as she lined up her shot. She knew it was a good roll the moment she let go of the ball; six pins down and another three on her second roll put her at 14 points. A slow start, especially since Eli's strike gave her bonus points, but Nico was confident she could win it back.

_Confidence means nothing,_ Nico decided twenty minutes later as she looked up at the score board. She frowned as she read the point totals, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. Eli had ended up with two strikes and two spares, putting her at 111, while Nico's single spare gave her a total of 79.

"At least I didn't get another gutterball," she grumbled to herself. She sighed, closing her eyes and tapping her foot impatiently. "What's taking Eli so long anyways?"

There was a vending machine near the entrance of the bowling alley; Eli had gone over there to get drinks after their game ended. She looked over the items for a moment before deciding to stick with water; it was surprisingly hot in the building, and the water would be refreshing. Drinks in hand, she walked slowly back towards her lane, observing the other games she passed. There weren't a lot of people playing today; only about half of the lanes were being used, and a few groups seemed close to leaving. The emptiness made for an almost peaceful atmosphere. There were some quiet conversations going on, but for the most part the only noise was the rolling of the balls and the clack of the pins as they toppled over, with an occasional cheer mixed in.

_Who would have thought that bowling would be relaxing?_ Eli mused as she walked. _Even the little kids aren't being rowdy. It's rather nice. _

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she caught sight of Nico, pausing a few feet away from the lane to watch the other girl. Nico was slumped in a chair, looking blankly up at the flashing scoreboard with a frown on her face.

_She looks disappointed… is she upset that she lost?_ Eli wouldn't be surprised if that was the case; Nico had a lot of pride, and losing after boasting so much earlier would definitely damage that. _She's usually more energetic though, even when she loses._ Eli spent another moment thinking before heading over to Nico and handing her a water bottle. _Well, if she wins the next game, that should cheer her up._

"Are you ready to play again?

"Huh?" Nico blinked up at Eli. "Oh, yeah. You can go first this time."

Eli nodded, heading over to the ball rack. Nico took a few gulps of water before joining her, grabbing her own ball in preparation for her turn.

"Think you can start off with another strike?"

"Hmm. I don't think I'll be so lucky this time." Eli smiled as she said that, but it looked odd to Nico. She narrowed her eyes, watching the other girl line up her shot. Something was definitely off. Her suspicions were confirmed when Eli's two rolls only knocked down five pins. _What is she doing?_

Nico figured it out by the third round. _You've got to be kidding me. You have _got_ to be kidding me. _It took all of Nico's self-control to keep a straight face as she stepped up for her turn, channeling all of her anger into rolling the ball. _I swear to god, if she's doing what I think she's doing…_

Eli's next roll knocked down eight pins. She frowned in annoyance. Nico waited. This was an easy shot—she would have no problems getting a spare herself, so neither should Eli. Just keep the ball on the left… and it went straight into the gutter.

"Woops." Eli gave a sheepish grin, and Nico felt her eye twitch. Gritting her teeth to keep from yelling, she moved to the front of the lane and rolled, faking a smile when she managed to get a spare.

_Seriously! That spare put me in the lead, and I can't even be happy about it! _

The game went quickly, Eli sighing in relief as Nico's final roll sealed her victory. Maybe that would cheer her up. Although Eli had done better than she meant to; it was harder than she expected to do badly, but still well enough to make sure Nico didn't catch her. _It looks like I succeeded, though,_ she thought as she sat down, smiling at Nico who was staring up at the scoreboard.

_I'm going to strangle her,_ Nico decided as she took a deep breath, knowing that Eli was waiting for the usual 'I'm number one' speech.

"See?" she started, congratulating herself on not letting her anger show in her voice, "I told you that first game was a fluke! Did you really think that the great Nico-Nii would be bad at bowling? An idol has to have many skills, after all! It's only natural that I win!" She dropped her smile before finishing: "At least, that's what you expect me to say, right?"

"Huh?" Eli froze as Nico turned to her with a suddenly serious expression, giving her an angry glare.

"I'm not a little kid, you know. Yeah, I don't like losing, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go home and cry about it or anything. You don't need to fake doing badly just so I can win. _Especially_ when you do it so obviously. You're really, really bad at subtlety. I don't know if you're aware of that, but it's true. It's almost embarrassing to watch you try. So don't bother. You are somehow magically perfect at bowling – and really, why am I even surprised – and I'm not. That's fine. It's just a game, and I can handle losing. So don't rub it in my face by doing something dumb like purposely losing. When I win, it's going to be all me. You got it?"

Eli blinked in surprise for a moment before giving an apologetic smile. _I guess I was found out_. _She has a good point though- I should have more faith in her._ "Yes. You're right. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Nico sat down in the chair across from Eli. Her arms were still crossed in annoyance, but she didn't seem to be as mad anymore. "Why'd you even do that, anyways? You can be just as competitive as I am; I would have thought you'd want to win."

"Mmm." Eli leaned back as she thought, trying to figure out how to explain herself without offending Nico further. "It's not that I didn't want to… I suppose I just thought that you'd want to win more. You seemed disappointed after the first round. Usually, when you don't do well at something, you get frustrated and that makes you work harder. So when you didn't, I got a bit worried, I guess. I thought that maybe it would cheer you up if you won the next round, so I tried to do poorly."

"That's it? You thought that watching you lose would make me happier?"

"I'll admit, it does sound a bit silly saying it out loud."

"Good. It should sound dumb. And anyways…"

"…yes?"

"Anyways nothing. Never mind." _I can't tell her that seeing her get excited over winning is enough to make happy. No way in hell could I say that! How much more embarrassing could you get?_

"Alright. If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure! Why would I lie about something like that? Come on, we have time for a few more rounds." Nico pushed herself out of her chair and headed to the ball rack, picking up her pink ball before turning back to Eli with an expectant look.

"Okay." Eli joined Nico at the rack, finding her blue ball quickly and giving the other girl a smile. "And I won't hold back this time."

"You better not," Nico warned. "Actually, you know what? If you want to lose so badly, why don't you just teach me?"

"Teach you?"

"Yeah. You can't do worse without making a fool of yourself, so just show me how to do better."

"Ah, well… that's a good idea, but I don't actually know what to tell you."

Nico's eyes narrowed. "… and what does that mean?"

"… it means that my skill is mostly just pure luck?" Eli gave a sheepish smile. "I have no idea why I'm doing so well, so I can't give you any tips."

"I hate you."

"Sorry."

"Hmph." Nico shook her head as she walked over to the bowling lane. "Well, that doesn't matter. You can't win off of luck forever. Time to show you what the great Nico-Nii can do!"

Whether it was through sheer determination or actual skill, Nico's score was much closer to Eli's at the end of their third game. She got both a strike and spare, though Eli's three spares still put her on top. Nico managed to win the fourth game – Eli smiled as Nico gave a genuine version of her speech from before – but lost the last one. Not that she minded, of course. It wasn't like she was a sore loser or anything. She made a mental note to look up bowling tips when she got home.

But putting aside her frustration at Eli's constant perfection at everything, Nico decided that maybe it was okay that she lost. Seeing Eli's eyes light up from excitement when she got a strike just about made up for it. She was still going to crush the other girl the next time they played, though.


	4. Cooking

Sorry for the delay. College is starting again, so updates are going to be slower.

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><p><strong>4: Cooking<strong>

It was 1 o'clock and Eli was sitting idly in bed, waiting for the doorbell to ring. There was no point in starting work; Nico had interrupted her every time she had tried. So she waited, trying to guess where Nico would take her today.

It was 2 o'clock, and Eli was feeling restless. Nico was usually here by now. The sun would be setting in a few hours, so if they had to walk somewhere it was better to leave earlier not get caught in the dark. Maybe they weren't going far?

It was 3 o'clock, and Eli reminded herself that Nico had never said that she was coming over. Yes, she had stopped by the past three Saturdays, but that didn't mean she would come _every_ Saturday. Maybe she had work, or other plans, or was sick. Or maybe she just didn't want to come over today. There was no reason she had to, of course. _Really,_ Eli scolded herself, _I shouldn't be expecting her to come. _

It was 4 o'clock, and Eli decided that she might as well get some work done. She'd already wasted half the day, so she had to make up for it. She tried to ignore the disappointment that filled her when she sat down at her desk and opened her notebook.

It was 6 o'clock when Eli gave up on the pretense of doing work. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't focus. She had gotten embarrassingly little done.

"This is useless," she muttered to herself, pushing away from the desk and getting to her feet. "Maybe I'll be able to concentrate after I eat something." Arisa was staying over at Yukiho's for the night, so Eli was on her own for dinner. She rummaged through the cupboards, but nothing was appealing. Those chocolates she had started making last night would only take a few minutes to finish… No. She shook her head and pulled out a pot. Desert was desert, and she would force herself to find something for dinner.

The doorbell rang as Eli was filling the pot with water. She jumped, then shoved the pot aside and rushed to the door, trying to push down the hope rising within her. There was no point in getting excited. But she couldn't help the relieved smile that formed when she saw Nico standing outside.

"I was wondering if you were going to come today."

"Wow, you actually missed me, huh? Not that I'm surprised. I'd miss me too, if I was gone. Anyways," Nico held up a plastic bag and grinned, "How does homemade curry sound?"

"Wonderful." Eli would be embarrassed at how happy seeing the other girl made her, but she couldn't get rid of the warmth that filled her long enough to do so. She ushered Nico inside and lead her into the kitchen. "Did you bring all of the ingredients you need?"

"Yeah." Nico set the bag on the counter and started pulling out potatoes and carrots. "I stopped at the store on my way here. Oh, and I bought enough for your sister, too, if she wants some."

Eli looked at Nico in surprise. She hadn't expected her to consider Arisa; it was very thoughtful of her. "Arisa's out tonight, so it's just the two of us. Thank you, though."

"What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything special."

Eli just smiled. "What can I do to help?"

Nico paused, looking over all the ingredients she had brought. "How good are you at cooking? You ever make curry before?"

"No. But I think I'm pretty good at making other things."

"Hmm. Yeah, no, I don't trust that."

Eli frowned, wondering if she should be insulted. Nico pushed a couple onions, carrots, and potatoes over to her, nodding at them.

"You can cut those up. I'll prep the meat. Can I use this pot you left on the counter?"

"You can use it. Anything else you need?" Eli pulled out a knife and cutting board, grabbing an onion and peeling it. Nico shook her head, dumping the water out of the pot and setting it on the stove. She washed her hands and tied a frilly pink apron around her waist, then started on the meat. She paused, glancing over at Eli when she saw the other girl's small smile.

"What?"

"Hmm?"

"You're looking at me funny."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Eli replied smoothly, her smile growing wider. Nico narrowed her eyes. "Don't you have meat to cut?"

"Hmph." Nico turned back to her task, and they worked in silence for a few minutes. The only sound was the thud of the knives hitting the cutting boards and Eli's soft, mindless humming. Nico finished the meat and put it in the pot along with a little bit of oil, turning the stove on before grabbing a couple of Eli's carrots. They took the meat out after it browned and fried the onions before putting it back in with the carrots and potatoes. Water was added and boiled, the pot covered and the timer set. An awkward silence fell, now that they had nothing to do but wait.

"Is there anything else we have to do?" Eli asked after a moment.

"Nah. I'll do the spices after the meat's done, so we're good. Wait, no, we should make the rice now. It'll taste better if we soak it first, so that will take some time. Where's your rice cooker?"

"I don't have one."

"_What?"_ Nico spun around to face Eli, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping open. "What kind of person doesn't have a rice cooker! That's, like, a standard thing!"

"Well…" Eli shifted uncomfortably. Were rice cookers really that common? "I don't really make rice that often. And they aren't very popular in Russia, so… I just never bought one?"

"Ughhhhhh." Nico groaned loudly, covering her face in her hands. "I can't believe this. You _useless_ Russians."

"Um."

"It'll take forever to make good rice without a rice cooker! We'll have to go buy _premade_ rice from the _store_. This sucks. _You_ suck."

Eli couldn't tell whether Nico was disgusted with her or the idea of buying rice. Probably both. She sighed. "I'll go pick some up. It won't take too long, maybe fifteen minutes. What kind should I get?"

"How should I know? I've never _bought_ rice before. Just… get something that's not terrible, I guess? Something fast, since we'll only have like half an hour after you get back before the curry's done."

"Alright. I'll see what they have. I'll be back in a bit."

Eli left, and in the sudden silence that fell after her departure, Nico became acutely aware that she was now alone in Eli's apartment. This was weird. Should it be weird? It felt weird. This was the first time Nico had been inside Eli's house, inside _any _friend's house, and now she was the only one there. What was she supposed to do? Nico fidgeted, looking around the kitchen for something to work on.

The meat was done, for now. Nothing to do there. The spices weren't needed until later… Nico spied her bag sitting on the counter and paused. Actually… She smiled. Now that she thought about, this was the perfect opportunity to go exploring. She grabbed her bag and left the kitchen, whistling loudly.

_Time to see what prim, proper, and perfect – wait, no, scratch that – Ayase Eli's room looks like. _Nico smirked. _I bet she's the type of person who has a really messy room. Yeah, she seems all organized and stuff on the outside, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was just an act. Gotta be 'cool and cute' for her fans, after all._

There were multiple doors in the hallway. Nico had no idea which one led to Eli's room, so she started with the closest one. She cracked the door open and peered inside, then remembered that she was alone in the apartment and swung the door open all the way, stepping into the room. The walls were a light blue, which meant it had to be Eli's, right?

_Well, duh. Of course I'd pick right on my first try. Famous idols don't need second guesses!_ It was a kind of disappointing room, though. Nico stood in the middle, turning slowly as she took everything in. There were a couple shelves filled with books, a closet, and a neat, organized desk. The only things of any interest were the tall, potted plant in the corner and the school bag thrown haphazardly onto the bed.

"Talk about boring. There aren't even any pictures on the walls. Although the stuffed bear on the desk is kind of odd. Wouldn't it be better to keep that on a bed?" Nico frowned and walked over to desk, glancing at the textbooks sitting on top of it. One of the titles caught her eye, and she paused. _Wait, algebra? We haven't done algebra since…_ Nico sighed, her shoulders slumping. _Since middle school. This is her sister's room, isn't it?_

Well, that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe Eli's real room would be more exciting. Nico left Arisa's room, shutting the door behind her. She'd have to make this quick. There was no telling when Eli was going to get back, and Nico didn't want to get caught snooping around.

The next room was empty aside from a bed and a dresser. For guests, maybe? Made enough sense. Nico headed for the third door. That meant that the last room was Eli's, for sure. She pushed the door open and walked inside. Nico barely registered the pale yellow of the walls, too distracted by the contents of the room.

"_Wow. _That is _a lot_ of books." Nico stared at the numerous shelves, each filled completely. There were books on the desk, next to the desk, and lining almost an entire wall. Nico had a feeling that if she opened the closet she would find even more. Seriously, who needed _that many_ books?

_At least they aren't all textbooks_, Nico thought as she scanned the titles. Some were, yeah, but there were a fair amount of novels mixed in too. There were three shelves filled with books covered in some scribbly writing that looked almost like English – Russian, probably. Nico wondered vaguely what Russian sounded like. Eli said 'harasho' every so often, of course, but who even knew what that meant. Maybe she should ask sometime.

The next thing that caught Nico's attention were the pictures. Four framed pictures of flowers were hanging above the desk – which was odd, but there did seem to be a slight flower theme going on in the room, what with the couple plants, the pictures, and the floral design of the rug – but Nico focused more on the few standing on the bookshelf next to the desk.

They were pictures of ballerinas. One of them was in black and white; the woman was posing, balanced on her toes with her arms raised elegantly above her head. Eli's grandmother? There was certainly a strong resemblance between them. The next picture showed two people. The man was holding the woman gently, hands tenderly cupping her waist. The woman had a joyful smile on her face, the happiness in her blue eyes so strong that even the photograph was able to capture the way they shone. Eli's mother and father, Nico figured. She didn't know much about them; Eli had never mentioned them, and it didn't look like they lived here. She didn't think they were dead though. That's something that would have come up during some conversation or another, right? Maybe they were still in Russia.

The last two pictures were of Eli herself. Nico smiled fondly as she looked at them. _She was a cute kid, wasn't she?_ The first must have been taken when Eli was really young. She was standing in what looked like a practice room, staring at something off camera. It didn't seem like she knew she was being photographed. But that made the picture seem more real. Even though she was young, Nico could easily see the determination in her eyes as she practiced. Her form wasn't perfect, but it was clear that that would change soon. And the second picture showed it.

Eli was older in that picture, though still fairly young. About ten years old, Nico guessed. It was taken during the middle of a performance. Eli was wearing an aqua tutu, her hair tied up in a neat bun. It was a nice look, but what really stood out was her expression. Her eyes were shining brightly, a huge smile on her face. Nico wasn't sure if she had ever seen Eli look so happy before. She enjoyed performing with Muse, of course, and she was always smiling then, but this? This was a look of pure joy. _Did she really love ballet so much?_

Not that Nico didn't understand. It was the same sort of passion she had for idols. _But passion isn't enough, is it?_ She frowned. It was clear how much Eli loved ballet, and yet she had still failed the auditions. It must have been a terribly hard blow. She sighed. No point in thinking about. There was nothing she could do about it, and that wasn't what she'd come into the room for in the first place.

Nico walked over to the bed and pulled a box out of her bag. It wasn't a very fancy box, but she had tried to spruce it up a little with a pink bow. It was Valentine's Day, after all. Nico bit her lip, struck by the sudden nervousness that had been following her around all week. Should she give Eli chocolate? That's what she was supposed to do, right? Since she and Eli were…

But it was _Eli_. Would she even realize why Nico was giving her chocolate? Or would she just pass it off as a friendly thing to do? Probably. She didn't even have a _rice cooker_, Nico couldn't expect her to understand this type of tradition. Eli had gotten a lot of chocolate and sweets in her locker this morning, though. As expected; Nico would never admit it out loud, but Eli was definitely the most popular girl in the school. Attractive, smart, cool; being the former student council president and now an idol only helped. If Nico was honest with herself, she was just a little bit jealous. Okay, maybe more than a little bit. But she was more jealous about all the attention Eli had received from the underclassmen at the school. They didn't even know her, and yet they were trying to win her affection with chocolate. Which was probably the easiest way to go about it with Eli, but still. Nico couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

That was why she had gone straight home after school and made some chocolate of her own. She'd been thinking about making some for the past few days, but kept putting it off because she wasn't sure how Eli would react. Even now, she was a bit nervous about giving them. Nico sighed, glancing restlessly around the room before placing the box gingerly on the bed and leaving the room. Eli would know who left them, of course, but at least this way Nico could avoid a confrontation. That would just be embarrassing, and Nico didn't want to make a fool of herself.

She headed back down hallway, reaching the kitchen a few moments before she heard the front door open. Quickly dropping her bag on the counter, she pulled out her phone and opened some random game she had downloaded yesterday, tapping randomly at the screen in an attempt to seem busy.

"I'm back," Eli said as she entered the kitchen. "Sorry I took so long, there was – are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. You just startled me, is all." Nico bent down to pick her phone up off the ground and quickly changed the subject. "Did you find the rice?"

Eli gave her an odd look but didn't comment, answering the question instead. "I got a few different types. I think they'll all work, but I wasn't sure if you'd have a preference." She pulled the containers out of her bag and Nico moved closer to see. They were all the same, really. Standard, pre-prepared white rice. _Just stick it in the microwave and enjoy your meaningless, tasteless lives; perfect for your everyday lazy cooks. And for victims of Russia's lack of rice cookers, apparently._

"Doesn't matter to me. They probably all taste the same, anyways." Nico shrugged, leaning her back against the counter.

"Hmm. Well, they only take a few minutes to make, so I'll pick one later."

Nico nodded in acknowledgement, frowning slightly as an awkward atmosphere settled over the kitchen. This always happened, didn't it? They were fine when there was something to do, but the moment that stopped suddenly they had nothing to talk about. _I gotta do something to fix that, or this is going to be a very long dinner. What would a good conversation topic be? Let's see… _Nico's mind immediately went back to the pictures in Eli's room_._

"What do your parents do?"

"My parents?" Eli turned to face Nico, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah. They don't live here, right? Are they still in Russia?"

"Oh, no. They're in… Germany right now, I think?" Eli's voice became quiet as she spoke, her eyes growing soft and distant. "They're part of a famous ballet company. They travel the world, giving performances with other dancers to thousands of people. I haven't seen them since I first moved to Japan, but we try to keep in touch. They send me videos of their shows, sometimes. They're amazing. Their movements flow so smoothly, and they make the dance truly come alive. I used to sit in the studio, watching them for hours. Even when they were just practicing, you could tell how much love they put into the dance. It fueled everything they did."

Nico watched Eli as she talked, remembering the pictures she had seen. It was true, Eli's parents clearly loved ballet, but so did Eli herself. Nico could hear the wistful longing in her voice, and wondered how anyone could love it more.

"Did you want to do that too? Travel around the world and perform?"

Eli was quiet for a moment. "That was my dream," she finally said, and Nico saw the glint of sadness that appeared in her eyes. "But dreams don't always come true. I've moved on."

"No." Nico frowned, feeling anger bubble up inside her.

"Huh?"

"No, you should _never_-"

The timer rang. In the split second pause Nico took, Eli rushed over to the stove, cutting her off. She knew what Nico was going to say, and she didn't want to hear it. Eli had tried following her dreams. She had tried over and over, and it had gotten her nowhere. She wasn't willing to try again.

"What do we do with the meat now? You have to add in spices, right? Can I help?" She gave Nico a smile, hoping that the conversation would be dropped. Nico didn't respond right away, still frowning, but she finally seemed to decide that it wasn't a topic worth pursuing. She sighed, grabbing the spice bottles and bringing them over to the pot.

"I'll take care of it." Nico flipped open the cap of the first bottle and sprinkled some into the pot. "This is the great Nico-Nii's recipe! I came up with it myself, so it's sure to be the best!"

She worked quickly, pouring in varying amounts of each spice with ease. It took no more than a minute, and after Eli heated up the rice they finally sat down to eat. It was delicious; the spices complemented the meat perfectly, and each bite tasted wonderful. Eli said as much, and Nico agreed with her usual arrogant smile.

"I think you've gotten better, though."

"Really?" Nico's grin disappeared, her eyes showing genuine interest as she leaned forward.

"Mmm. I remember what you made during our first training camp, and I think this tastes better. I'm not sure I could say what's different, exactly, but it's more… more flavorful."

"Oh yeah? That's good to hear. I've changed some things around since then, and while it always tastes good, of course, having a second opinion is nice."

"What about your siblings? Don't they have any thoughts?"

"It's food, and I'm the one that made it, so that's all they really care about. Having adoring younger siblings is great, don't get me wrong, but they don't have the best criticism sometimes."

Eli laughed softly. "Is that so. Arisa seems to be just fine calling me out on things. She's as bad as Nozomi, sometimes. I can't hide anything from either of them."

"Ugh, yeah. She can be awful. Hey, did you hear what she did yesterday?"

"No, what did she do this time?"

Nico grinned, telling the story with gusto. They talked for a while about Nozomi and the other members of Muse, eventually ending up at the subject of their most recent live. It had taken place on the rooftop of the school, loving decorated during the week in the theme of Valentine's Day.

"It was a good live," Nico was saying, "and it'll get us a bunch more fans, but I'm not sure they're the type of fans we want."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, we were dancing around in skimpy maid outfits. And we looked great doing it, of course, but there are some creepy guys that are into that kind of stuff."

"That's true. Any fans we can get will be helpful, though. We'll need a lot of support to win Love Live."

"Mm." Nico leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head. There was a moment of silence before Eli spoke again.

"I do wonder how Umi fared, having to write Mogyutto 'love' de Sekkin Chuu. It must have been hard for her."

Nico snorted, rolling her eyes. "I still can't believe how much of a prude she is. Honoka and Kotori probably helped her out, that's the only way I can see it happening."

"Well, they did a good job, however it happened." Eli got to her feet, gathering the empty plates and bringing them over to the sink. "Do you want to stay for desert? I made some шоколадные картошка last night. They'll only take a few minutes to finish up."

"You made _what?_"

"_Shokoladne kartoshka_," Eli repeated slowly. "It's Russian for chocolate potatoes." She pulled a bowl out of the fridge and set it on the counter, turning back around when she didn't hear a response. Nico was staring at her with a mixture of horror and confusion, her mouth hanging open. "What?"

"What do you mean, what! Why the _hell_ would you put _chocolate_ on _potatoes_!? First the rice cookers, now this! I never knew there were so many things wrong with Russia. The cold must have frozen your brains, or something, that's the only explanation I can think of!"

Eli rolled her eyes, ignoring Nico's rant and carefully measuring out sugar and cacao powder. "They're not actual potatoes," she said after Nico finished. "They're chocolate truffles in the shape of potatoes. And they taste good, too, so you should at least try one."

"Oh." Nico paused, considering the new information. "Well, in that case, sure. What's in them?"

"Not too much. Let's see…" Eli worked as thought, scooping out balls of batter and forming them into small log-like shapes. "Milk, butter, and cacao powder for the batter, with cookies, walnuts, and sugar mixed in. You can also put rum into it, I believe, but I never have."

"Now that would be interesting. Let's put some in the next batch and bring them to practice. I want to see Maki and the others get drunk."

Eli grimaced. "I don't think that would be the best idea. It wouldn't be enough to get any drunk, anyways."

"Why are you always such a party pooper? Maybe you're the one we should get drunk. We can make your potatoes and then you'll chug the rest of the rum."

"I think I'll pass. I got drunk once back in Russia, and it's really not that exciting. You'd just be disappointed. Here, try a truffle." Eli head out the plate to Nico, who took a chocolate and popped it in her mouth.

"Oh, hey, these are pretty good. I want to hear more about you getting drunk, though. How'd that happen?" She grabbed another truffle, munching on it as she waited for Eli's story. They were better than she had expected. Seems Eli did know how to cook after all.

"It was an accident. My grandmother put her glass of vodka next to my glass of water, and I grabbed the wrong one. Turns out I have very low alcohol tolerance, or at least I did when I was ten. I didn't do much, though. I talked to a plant for half an hour and then passed out, I believe."

"Wow. Even drunk you're no fun. I'm kinda impressed, actually."

"You know, you keep saying that, but you also keep coming over every week. So my company must be at least somewhat enjoyable."

"Well, yeah, you can be fun to be around, sure. You just have boring moments. But that's what I'm here for! I'm here to spice up your life."

"And to try to kill me with rollercoasters, right?"

"Hey, I had to survive them too! Oh, but that reminds me. Next week it's your turn." Nico saw the confusion on Eli's face and elaborated: "To pick something. Somewhere to go, or something to do. I've been deciding all our activities so far, and it's feeling a little one-sided. I have to do all the hard work and you just sit here and wait. So! Next week you pick. I'll come over after lunch, just tell me if there's anything I have to bring."

"Hmm…" Eli leaned against the counter, eyes unfocused as she thought. "Nothing immediately comes to mind. That seems fair, though. I'll let you know when I come up with something. And I'll make sure it's something fun, just for you."

"I should hope so. I'm putting my faith in you, so don't disappoint me!"

Eli laughed. Nico dropped her stern façade and smiled, and they each ate a chocolate potato quietly.

"I should probably get going," Nico said after a few minutes. "I don't want my siblings to worry."

"Alright. Do you want to take any of the truffles with you? There's plenty here."

"Sure, that'd be great."

Nico packed the few things she had and headed to the door, slipping on her shoes and coat. Eli handed her the chocolates and they said goodnight, Nico smiling and waving as she left. _It was a nice evening_, Eli thought as she cleaned up the kitchen. They were always busy when they were hanging out, playing games or running around. This had been relaxing. They were able to sit down and talk, without worrying about anything else. And Nico's cooking was always a bonus.

"I should probably look into getting a rice cooker though." Eli laughed softly, remembering the horrified look on Nico's face. Well, it had tasted fine, so it wasn't really that big of a deal. _Still, I should write myself a note. Just in case Nico wants to cook again._ Eli headed to her room to find a piece of paper. She was about to sit down at her desk when a black box on her bed caught her eye.

_Wait… what's that?_ Eli picked the box up cautiously. Did she own a box like this? She undid the pink ribbon slowly, her eyes widening when she saw what was inside. A dozen small chocolates filled the box, each one shaped carefully into a heart. Most of them appeared to be plain, but a few had fruits or nuts and a couple looked to have some sort of filling.

_Did Nico make these?_ Eli realized that she was holding her breath, and she let it out slowly. There was an odd heat in her chest, her heart pounding strangely. _She must have left them here when I was out buying rice… why didn't she say anything?_

That wasn't like Nico. If she was going to put effort into something, she was going to take credit for it. The chocolates looked very professional; it was hard to tell that they were homemade, and they must have taken a lot of work to make. Yet she had just left them here, without comment. Why? Eli was surprised to find that the answer was obvious.

_They're important._ That was the only time Nico hid things: when she had strong emotional investment in them. Eli laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and running her fingers absentmindedly over the box. She worked through the situation slowly, trying to avoid the conclusion she knew she was going to reach. There wasn't much to work through, though: it was Valentine's Day. Chocolates were a traditional gift for friends and loved ones.

Eli sighed. It was clear which category she fell into. _Nico isn't one for making friendly gestures like that. And if she was, surely she would have made some for Nozomi and Maki, too. I can't say for sure that she didn't, but… _There was no point in beating around the bush. Nico had feelings for her; very possibly romantic feelings. And there was that warmth again, the one that filled her body and made her dizzy, pulsing in tune with the beating of her heart. Eli groaned, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow. She hated dealing with things like this.


End file.
